Andy Burnham 'to sack Rachel Reeves' as he prepares bid to save Britain's economy

Andy Burnham is expected to sack Rachel Reeves as Chancellor as part of his preparations for power.The Makerfield MP is set to deliver a major policy speech next week in a bid to reassure the markets and hype up his credentials on the economy.Mr Burnham, The Times revealed, will pledge to grow the economy and commit to Labour's budget rules amid concern in the markets about his looming move to No10.He will also pledge to reduce the national debt and the cost of borrowing in what's been billed as his credible growth plan.Talks over who may sit at Mr Burnham's Cabinet table are underway - with Ms Reeves potentially replaced by one of Wes Streeting, Ed Miliband and Shabana Mahmood.However, Mr Burnham's allies insist no jobs had been given and no deals had been made as of Monday evening.Right now, Labour's newest MP looks like he'll have an unopposed run at No10 - but Darren Jones, a close ally of Sir Keir Starmer, is said to be sniffing out the prospect of whether he could find 81 MPs to back him and trigger a contest.A source close to Mr Jones told The Times he was not minded to run, but will want assurances on economic and national security policy before signing up to a coronation.FOLLOW BELOW FOR LIVE UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY...Minister shrugs off Britons' demands for General Election after Keir Starmer exitCabinet Office Minister Nick Thomas-Symonds has shrugged off Britons' demands for a General Election after Sir Keir Starmer resigned.Confronted with the news that he had called for a national vote when the Tories changed their leaders in the past - and whether he would call for one now - Mr Thomas-Symonds jabbed: I'd be surprised if the opposition wasn't always calling for a General Election. I hope I was calling for a General Election a lot more often than that when I was in opposition. That's exactly what I'd expect the opposition to do.Labour brands Nigel Farage NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT for pro-Brexit views Labour has branded Nigel Farage a “threat to national security” over his stance on Europe.Ten years after Britons exercised their democratic right and voted to ditch Brussels, Cabinet Office minister Nick Thomas-Symonds said the prominent Leave campaigner had a worldview which was “sympathetic” to Russian President Vladimir Putin.Mr Thomas-Symonds then accused Mr Farage of having consistently supported Russia, and tried to pretend that our interests could ever align with a dictator’s.Writing in the Telegraph ahead of the event, he said: “From declaring in 2014 that ‘I think the European Union, frankly, does have blood on its hands in the Ukraine’, and that he didn’t want a ‘European foreign policy’, to suggesting in 2024 that Nato and the EU’s ‘eastward expansion’ gave a reason for Putin to ‘go to war’.“His rationale for doing so, it seems, has been to ultimately undermine the favourability of the European Union. So consumed with being anti-Europe, engrossed by an ideological necessity for separation, he has chosen to fall on one side of a worldview. The wrong side.”He added: “Allowing a worldview sympathetic to Putin to hold the balance of power would be an unprecedented threat to national security.”Mr Farage just months ago outlined his view on Mr Putin.The Russian President proves with every week that goes by that he's not rational, that he doesn't want a just settlement [with Ukraine], and that, frankly, he is an incredibly dangerous man, the Reform UK leader confirmed.Fresh details of Andy Burnham's economic plan for power emerge - as it's revealed Defence Investment Plan will be SHELVED until he becomes PMAndy Burnham is set to offer Lord O'Neill of Gatley, a former Treasury Minister and Goldman Sachs banker, and Andy Haldane, a former Bank of England chief economist, roles in his Government, according to The Times.It follows a report by the BBC last week which revealed Mr Burnham had consulted high-level advisers including Lord O'Neill in the days before his by-election victory in a bid to reassure markets.He has also been advised by the former OBR chairman Richard Hughes, who resigned in December after overseeing an IT leak that threw Rachel Reeves's Budget into chaos.But last night, it also emerged that the long-overdue Defence Investment Plan will not be published until Mr Burnham takes power.The Makerfield MP is said to want to examine the plans himself and then make a decision.Defence Secretary John Healey and Armed Forces Minister Al Carns both extraordinarily resigned over the plans just days ago after the Treasury failed to cough up the cash to properly fund Britain's ailing Armed Forces.Andy Burnham dispatches two ex-ministers who resigned in disgrace to lead Westminster operationAndy Burnham's closest allies are thought to have begun setting up his Westminster operation, including two ministers who resigned in disgrace under Sir Keir Starmer.Louise Haigh, who left Cabinet after it emerged she was convicted of fraud, and Josh Simons, who was accused of - and denied - a role in commissioning smear campaign against journalists, are leading Mr Burnham's charge.Ms Haigh was said to have been assembling Labour MPs for meet-and-greet chats with Mr Burnham yesterday - including for conversations about potential jobs in Mr Burnham's Government.While Mr Simons is thought to have been involved in talks with MPs and civil servants, suggesting he will play a role in the next administration, according to the Mail.Mr Simons also stepped down in Makerfield, triggering the by-election which Mr Burnham won. Ms Haigh was a core figure in his successful campaign.Breaking overnight: Donald Trump swipes at Keir Starmer one more time after PM finally resigns - 'I wish him well!'Donald Trump has taken what might be his final swipe at Sir Keir Starmer after the Prime Minister finally announced his resignation.Shortly after the Labour leader outlined his timetable of resignation outside Downing Street on Monday morning, the US President was probed about his reaction and who he would like to see replace him in No10.Mr Trump described Sir Keir as a lovely man and said he wishes him well, but said the Prime Minister ultimately failed on two things: energy and immigration and crime.The Trump administration also offered up its first statement on Andy Burnham overnight...READ THE FULL STORY HERE Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter